Spaced: "Beginnings"Review

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The cult hit from the Shaun of the Dead creators finally comes to BBC America.

By Eric Goldman

I must admit, I was afraid that 836971.html" class="autolink" >Spaced was a show that couldn't possibly live up to expectations. I'd first heard about the show several years back when many online were talking it up, and a friend of mine who'd been lucky enough to see the show raved about it to me. And when I later saw a clip reel presented by Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg at Comic-Con -- there to promote their film Shaun of the Dead -- I found it simply hysterical. Last but far from least was the release of Shaun into theaters, a film which I adored and have seen many times since. All of this has built up my own huge anticipation for Spaced, that was probably a bit ridiculous given the modest origins of the show.

For those who don't know, before they made Shaun of the Dead, Wright and Pegg's first collaboration was the British series Spaced, which is coming to BBC America this week a full 7 years after its overseas debut. The series has actually aired once before in the US on a brief run on the cable station Trio, but the much more widely available BBC America will be the first chance for most of us to see this cult hit.

Though Spaced is a single camera show with no studio audience/laugh track, it has your basic sitcom premise, as it follows the story of wannabe comic book artist Tim (Pegg) and aspiring journalist Daisy (Jessica Stevenson), two London locals who find themselves needing a new place to live; Daisy because she's no longer happy squatting with a bunch of pseudo-friends, Tim because his girlfriend has just broken up with him. The two meet at a coffee shop and hit it off, quickly forming a friendship. When they find a listing for a great apartment, with the stipulation that only couples can live there, they decide to pretend to be romantically involved in order to move in.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes a bit at the contrived nature of the setup, simply because it's such a cliché, Three's Company / Bosom Buddies type scenario. But this is the pilot of the show, and hopefully, now that Tim and Daisy are roommates, the show can focus less on the "will they be found out?" portion of the show and more on the day to day observations of Daisy and Tim's life, which clearly is already a great strength of the series.

The cast of Spaced is watching you

Pegg and Stevenson (who also appeared in Shaun of the Dead) are not only the stars but the writers of the series, with Wright directing. As I already knew from Shaun, these guys are proof that pop culture and geek fandom is much the same on both sides of the pond, and Spaced quickly delivers one great referential joke after another to everything from The Shining to Scooby-Doo.

Sometimes the reference is simply a visual gag, sometimes it's a more direct parody scene (such as the laugh out loud Shining joke), and other times it's just a funny line, like Tim telling his girlfriend, "I can be emotional. I cried like a child at the end of Terminator 2!"

What makes the show really work though is that beyond the sitcom set up and the pop culture jokes, Tim and Daisy are quickly very likable people and Pegg and Stevenson make for a nicely down to earth and relatable pair. In addition, it's hardly like all the jokes require a background in other films and series, as the show provides plenty of other well done comedy bits, including the introduction of bizarre neighbor Brian (Mark Heap) and a wonderful moment that pretty much makes the whole "fake couple" scenario worth it, as Tim and Daisy make a rather major mistake in recounting the timeline of their romance.

All in all, there is plenty of strong material here to make this a show well worth checking out.